Telescopes
by Vendelyn Silverhawk
Summary: After the Dark Curse is lifted, what happens to Jefferson and Grace? They still can't leave town and it looks like the Enchanted Forest is off-limits while their Prince searches for a portal, but none of that matters how that his big house suddenly isn't so empty anymore... Set after S.2 e.3.


**A/N: So I'm about midway through Once Upon A Time season two- I've wanted to watch it for a while, ever since I saw pictures of the Mad Hatter a few years ago, learning that Sebastian Stan was the actor finally got me to sit down and start it- and I just adore Jefferson and Gracie, and I'm heartbroken that they're gone, so I had to fill the void with a little fluffy one-shot. Enjoy!**

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Jefferson's eyes slanted to look at Grace as they walked, hand in hand, down the forest road. Her fingers were so small in his, but their hands still fit together after twenty-eight years.

After the Savior's son convinced him to find Grace, he couldn't believe that she would just run to him, that he would hear her say "Papa!" with recognition in her voice. There was no confusion, no resentment, just love and it had knocked him off his feet just as she did when she was finally in his arms. He had insisted on carrying her all the way out of the heart of the town, until they hit the forest and Grace said that even if her memory had been a bit faulty, her legs worked fine. But he had insisted on holding her hand as they took the long way back to his mansion; the burden of knowing had kept him a recluse with no need for a car.

Around them the leaves of the forest whispered, and the cool smell of after rain pervaded the air as their footsteps plodded through puddles. Skirting the edge of the road, Jefferson watched the blue-grey sky and emerald leaves, looking everywhere but at Grace. He resisted the urge to pull at the scarf around his neck and scratch the scar around his neck- it hadn't bothered him in years but the nervous tick still did.

"Papa, where are we going?" Grace asked, imploring voice forcing him to look at her. She glanced up at him with crystal blue eyes, sweet face framed by honey-gold hair that hadn't grown an inch since the day of the curse.

"Back to our home," he said. "I live near the town border, in a house much bigger than our cottage."

"Is that why I never saw you? Before the Savior broke the curse."

"Yes... I, I remembered everything, YOU, but I couldn't stand seeing people not know who they were. Seeing you not know yourself," Jefferson said past the lump in his throat, and something in his chest constricted painfully. Grace's hand tightened in his, and she smiled softly.

"It's OK, Papa. Now you won't have to avoid the town, or be alone anymore."

"No," Jefferson smiled.

"Is our new house really a mansion?"

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Grace shrieked as she ran down the hall with Jefferson on her heels. Turning the corner into the dining room, she dove under the table cloth, burying her face in her sweater to smother her giggles. Soon she could see her father's boots, trailing around the edge of the table on bent knees, barely making a sound.

"Where's my rabbit gone?" he asked the air, and Grace covered her mouth with her hand to keep from laughing. "I'm a hungry Jabberwock and do you know what a Jabberwock eats?"

Grace could hear her heart beating as her father circled the table, straightened, and faced away from her, toes aiming for the far door.

"Hmm... no rabbits here, I suppose." He strode from the room and Grace let out a sigh. Crawling out from under the table, she dusted off her dress. The house really was dusty- it made her sad to imagine her father sitting here for years while she'd lost her memory. But everything was fine now because she remembered- everyone remembered- and she and her father would make a game out of cleaning the mansion. Everything would do back to the way it was, until the Prince found a way to get back to the Enchanted Forest.

Momentarily distracted from the game, Grace walked over to the armoire against the dining room wall, admiring the fine china dishes. In the Enchanted Forest they had never had anything so fine- just her old pewter tea set and their wooden bowls and plates. She traced the dust on the wood with a finger, then blew. White drifted into the air around her and for a moment, with the light of the setting sun shafting through the windows it was like she was surrounded by fairy dust.

Then two hands squeezed her waist, lifting her up into the air like flying. She shrieked before realizing that it was her father, and when he turned her around it was so that she could see a smile that reached his eyes. She had no way of knowing that he hadn't smiled like that in twenty-eight years, just that it had been too long since _she'd_ seen it and it lit up her world, regardless of the fact that the "Jabberwock" had won their game.

"I don't think you even tried that time," Jefferson pretended to pout, but Grace just leaned forward and kissed him on the nose.

"I've always liked Jabberwocks," she said.

"Oh, but didn't you know? I'm not a Jabberwock anymore, and since you lost the game... I'm the _tickle monster_!" he growled, and as soon as her feet hit the floor she was racing away from her father's hands. He caught her in the living room and as rabbit struggled to get away from monster both ended up in a panting tangle on the floor.

"Daddy?" Grace asked as they lay, tops of their heads connecting as they looked up at the skylight. The sun was setting, bathing the room in fierce golds and oranges, red reflecting through the glass. Jefferson had never seen anything so beautiful, and for a moment he thought of his wife's hair, and how the moment was almost perfect. Then Grace reached back to grab his hand and he was grounded again.

"What is it, Gracie?" he said.

"Are we... do you think we'll ever get home? To our cottage, and the Enchanted Forest?"

Jefferson swallowed past the lump in his throat, fingers tightening around hers. What Regina had said still rang in his mind- that there was no way to get home. He knew the Prince and his grandson were running around looking for a portal, but in his heart of hearts he doubted they would ever make it. But if they did... there was a small fortune in all the wealth of the mansion. If they were to make it back, Grace would want for nothing. To see the forest again... the mushrooms, the faeries, the village, the magic to make a hat work again...

But what did any of that matter, as long as Grace was with him?

"I don't know, sweetie," he said honestly. "But until the Prince finds something, this is our home. If... if you want to stay. If you don't like it we can always move somewhere else in town, closer to your friends if you want."

Grace moved onto her stomach and played with her father's hair, covered his eyes with her hands. His laugh was warm and long and made her smile again.

"No, I like this- it's bigger than the cottage. But it's dusty, and dark."

"Then we'll open it! And clean- we'll clean all day tomorrow until you're happy," Jefferson declared, getting up and picking her up off the floor, hugging her close. Wrapping her arms around his neck, Grace smiled.

"But it's getting dark, and it's been a long few days for both of us," he said. Grace laid her head in the crook of his neck and sighed, breath hot and familiar. How he had missed holding her close...

"Hey Gracie... do you wanna see your room?"

"Yes!"

They headed hand and hand down the hallway, Grace's fingers trailing the eccentric turquois and gold fleur de lis wallpaper. When Jefferson opened the gold door and flipped on the light switch in the room at the end of the hall, Grace froze, and he heard a small "Oh."

Jefferson smiled- he knew she'd like it. He'd kept it ready for her for years, spending time collecting things that he'd never been able to get her in the Enchanted Forest. For all of the curse's rules, it didn't forbid having things from the outside come in- Jefferson had learned the wonders of ordering online quickly, and that money wasn't an issue for him, in an ironic twist of fate. Locked in a mansion for fear of going into town and being unable to play "memory loss" with his daughter walking around, he'd found ways to occupy himself. The splendid room he and Grace now found themselves in was one of those ways.

Twenty eight years to make her a wonderland, and he could tell that Grace was overwhelmed. It was the largest bedroom in the house, and he'd painted each of the four walls a different color- lapis lazuli, snapdragon pink, the green of the Enchanted Forest, and on the final wall an intricate, detailed painting of their cottage in the woods. From it sprang walls of fake wood to form a half-open cabin with a plush bed and sheets that mimicked forest moss, velvet mushroom pillows. Along the snapdragon wall was a garden of glass flowers springing from the corner, and an ornate castle housing a perfect hand-painted pewter tea set. There was a swing hanging from the ceiling as well, a mound of cushions in one corner forming a low seat, a broad window in the lapis lazuli wall with a window seat. A small bookshelf rested against the wall by the door; on the ceiling tree branches formed a canopy, but in places projected stars shone through and a massive pink flower sprang from the ceiling to light the whole room.

"Daddy, I love it!" Grace squealed suddenly, racing towards the cottage bed and leaping into its plump softness. She stared wide-eyed at the dolls and stuffed animals and toys in the room, the puzzles and the brand-new books. There was a fluffy white rabbit stuffed animal in the middle of the swing, and when she saw it her eyes filled with tears. It was as close to the one at the market that Jefferson had been able to find.

"Grace?" Jefferson said, brow furrowed in concern as he rushed to her. He sank down onto the bed, crushing the moss blanket beneath him as he leaned towards her. He wiped at the tears on her cheeks.

"Grace, what's wrong?"

"I love it, Papa, really," she said, smiling. "But I don't care about any of it, as long as I never lose you again. White rabbit or not."

"Oh, Gracie, you'll never lose me," Jefferson said, wrapping his arms around her. Tears burned in his eyes as they rocked back and forth, and happiness had somehow never seemed so far away. He'd spent so long with an image of Grace in his head that holding her in his arms again, being able to provide for her, was never conceivable in reality. He'd forgotten what a precocious girl she was, how perceptive; she'd never cared a whit about material things, just her Papa and Mama. Her family was all that mattered.

"And I will never leave you again," he said when they broke apart. "_Ever_."

"I know you didn't mean to," she said suddenly, wiping her eyes.

"W-what?"

"I know you didn't mean to leave me. After everyone got their memories back I read Henry's storybook- about how the Queen tricked you and you got stuck in Wonderland. And... your head," she murmured, reaching out to his scarf. Jefferson's hand twitched to stop her, but ultimately he let it fall, and swallowed as she unwound it gently from his neck. Then it finally fell away and the circular scar left by the Queen of Hearts' axe was laid bare. Her fingers were warm as they traced the line full-circle, until her hands came to rest together on the back of his neck. She looked horrified, and tears welled up again, but her chest rose as she took a mighty breath and visibly composed herself.

"You aren't really crazy, are you Papa?" Grace asked. Jefferson sighed, and ran a hand through his hair. He had prayed his daughter would never see that side of him, the one that drove him to madness in the Queen of Hearts' dungeon, to kidnap Emma and Snow White. His mind still felt... fractured, overwhelmed, but better ever since Grace had looked at him with recognition in her eyes. Away from the prying eyes and dramatics of the rest of the town, he had hoped he could _heal_. With Grace.

"Well, I was... not myself, for a long time, sweetie," he said softly. "A little mad, even, but I'm fine now. I-I'm getting better. Thanks to you."

"I'll help you, Papa. We'll make you whole again, and have more tea parties, and clean up the house and open all the windows. No more telescopes."

Jefferson smiled, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear as he recalled her reaction to his hat room and the telescopes he'd used to make himself feel less lonely- the one aimed on her bedroom during the curse. He leaned across the bed and grabbed the rabbit from the swing, bringing it to rest between he and Grace.

"No more telescopes."

_FIN_

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**A/N: Thoughts? PLEASE tell me what you liked and didn't like, whether you enjoyed it, questions or suggestions! **

**Also, the thought Jefferson has about his wife's hair- I'm toying with the idea of a one-shot about her, let me know what you think!**

_Review!_


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